Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

IVF treatment to restrict women to one embryo only each time

In order to avoid the dangers of multiple births, women having in vitro fertilisation may be limited to having just one embryo implanted at a time.

29 Jul 2005

Infectious diseases pose a serious threat to the nation's public health

Infectious diseases pose a serious threat to the nation's public health. Today, experts addressed key developments to the current and future outlook of infectious diseases, highlighting adolescent immunizations, outbreaks and epidemics of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance and new developments in HIV medicine, at a press conference sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

27 Jul 2005

Opiates themselves are superior to sedatives for treating infants born to women who used heroin or methadone while pregnant

Opiates appear to better "ameliorate the withdrawal, facilitate feeding and potentially reduce the likelihood of seizures," according to two new systematic reviews done by David Osborn, a neonatologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues.

26 Jul 2005

Single prenatal dose of methamphetamine enough to cause long-term neurodevelopmental problems in babies

In research published in the August issue of Free Radical Biology and Medicine, U of T pharmacy and pharmacology professor Peter Wells and his colleagues determined that exposing pregnant mice only once to methamphetamine led to delivery of offspring with long-term neurodevelopmental problems, including reduced motor co-ordination.

26 Jul 2005

Exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy can be just as detrimental to a developing fetus as primary exposure through maternal smoking

In a study published in the online journal BMC Pediatrics, Stephen G. Grant, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental and occupational health, reports that both active maternal smoking and secondary maternal exposure result in similarly increased rates of genetic mutation that are basically indistinguishable.

26 Jul 2005

Doctors in the U.S. hope brain-dead woman will give birth

According to her family, a brain-dead, pregnant, American woman on life life-support, has reached the stage of pregnancy where her baby could survive outside the womb.

23 Jul 2005

Sale of abortion-pill threatened by U.S. lawmakers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new warning this week regarding the abortion pill RU-486 following the deaths of five women taking it, from bacterial infections.

21 Jul 2005

Australian stem cell discovery hailed as a major medical and scientific development

Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) senior scientist Dr Caroline Gargett's discovery of adult stem cells in the uterus that can be grown into bone, muscle, fat and cartilage, has been hailed as a major medical and scientific development by international reproduction experts.

20 Jul 2005

Reliable research about the benefits and harms of treatments for malaria in pregnant women is scarce

Few studies compare the effects of different drug regimes in pregnant women, and many of the best studies were conducted in Southeast Asia, where malaria transmission rates are low, says researcher Lois Orton of the University of York in England.

20 Jul 2005

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) occurs far more frequently than generally believed

Although estimates vary widely, when combined with the milder afflictions of Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) and several others, the Centers for Disease Control puts the frequency of FAS/ARBD as high as one in 100.

19 Jul 2005

Spontaneous contractions suppressed in late-term rat pregnancy

A long-time aim of obstetrical research has been to find agents that could delay or diminish pre-term labor because even today pre-term birth is a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity.

19 Jul 2005

Important find will help design appropriate screening and therapy for women carrying fetuses impaired in their growth

In her research, Dr. Andree Gruslin encountered many pregnant women who could not carry their fetuses to term because the placenta, and in turn the fetus, were too small. In once case, she followed a woman who had had eight consecutive miscarriages due to this condition. Thanks to this latest discovery, she now understands why.

19 Jul 2005

Australian discovery of adult stem cells in the uterus

19 Jul 2005

Would boosting the oxytocin (OT) hormonal system lead to longer breast-feeding?

There's little controversy about the benefits of breastfeeding infants over giving them formula. Mother's milk is the perfect food, providing exactly the correct nourishment for newborns, while protecting them from many illnesses.

19 Jul 2005

Rapid new technique for detecting group A streptococcus

Cornell University scientists have developed a rapid, less costly and sensitive new technique for detecting group A streptococcus, the bacteria that cause scarlet fever. Details will be announced today at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans.

18 Jul 2005

Way now clear for FDA approval of Plan B "morning-after" pill

Now that senators Patty Murray of Washington and Hillary Clinton of New York, have dropped their objections to acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford becoming the permanent commissioner, approval for the sale of the Plan B "morning-after" contraceptive without a prescription should be granted with the minimum of delay.

18 Jul 2005

Cigarette smoke stops transport of freshly ovulated hamster eggs

Eggs of female hamsters are significantly less likely to be transported by the oviduct when the eggs or the oviduct have been exposed to cigarette smoke, and this could result in disruption of fertilization and pregnancy, according to reproductive scientists at the University of California, Riverside.

17 Jul 2005

Age may work in reverse when it comes to raising grandchildren

...suggests a University of Florida study that finds younger grandmothers in this role are depressed more often than their older counterparts.

12 Jul 2005

True validity of prostate cancer tests questioned

According to the American cancer society, more than 232,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and about 30,000 will die of it.

11 Jul 2005

Urine testing may predict birthmarks

Vascular anomalies - birthmarks caused by abnormal development of arteries, capillaries, veins or lymph vessels - can sometimes begin to progress, requiring aggressive treatment to save the child's health or vision. Research at Children's Hospital Boston now suggests that urine testing can help monitor these anomalies and predict those about to become a serious threat.

6 Jul 2005